EC from DC
For more than five years, I have written a weekly commentary treatise promoting the need for an elevation in congressional civility and a denunciation of the notion that compromise means capitulations. Four hundred and thirty-four Members of the House of Representatives receive the weekly congressional communiqué.
As we rapidly approach the holidays, I want to bring something to your attention. On Wednesday, I sent a letter to Secretary of Labor Tom Perez and Acting Commissioner of Food and Drugs Dr. Stephen Ostroff, calling on them to investigate slave-peeled shrimp in Thailand, which is entering the United States’ food supply.
On Wednesday of this week, I, along with 171 of my colleagues, signed a discharge petition to force a vote on commonsense, life-saving legislation to keep guns and explosives out of the hands of terrorists. Last week, House Republicans voted three times to block the House from debating H.R. 1076, the Denying Firearms and Explosives to Dangerous Terrorists Act.
Today, I want to bring your attention and awareness to criminal “government grant scams” that prey on vulnerable Americans. This time of year we must remain hyper-vigilant.
This week, I would like to simply send to you a Thanksgiving Day message. It is critical in today’s technology focused and fast paced society to stop for a moment to take a deep breath, to think, and to give genuine thanks for our family, our friends and those we love.
On Wednesday we commemorated Veterans Day, a day on which to honor those among us who have heard the call of their nation and served diligently. They made a commitment to serve, and in return, we have made a commitment to veterans that must be honored. We owe our veterans a tremendous amount of gratitude.
This week in DC we finally reauthorized the Export-Import Bank, the government agency that provides loans and insurance in support of the export of American goods and services. On Tuesday, I voted, along with 312 other Democratic and Republican colleagues in the House, to pass H.R. 597, a bipartisan bill to reauthorize the job-creating Export-Import Bank.
On Monday I sent a letter to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Administrator Chuck Rosenberg regarding the danger of a new drug by the name of Alpha-PVP, also known as Flakka. It is a threatening drug that has taken lives and endangers countless more.
